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I agree with much of what this young man wrote and I’m no millenial by a long stretch (48).
http://www.christianitytoday.com/le/2013/spring/why-i-wont-give-to-your-church.html?start=2
Anonymoustrying to read the article… annoying pop ups.. I just actually yelled at my computer “Fuck Off at the Pop Up Ads” !!! (I may have something more relevant to post once I actually get the opportunity to read it…)
AnonymousI don’t disagree w/ the author of the article and I’m 51, almost 52 years old.
What bugs me is, outreach – with – an -ulterior – motive that is so prevelant in churches..the ulterior motive being getting them saved and into the pews. Why does that[conversion] always have to be the end goal?
@Kathy-D YES! That’s why I stopped giving. I dislike the idea that “outreach” means getting people into the building. One of the worst moments ever at our former church was when they tried to address the criticism that they weren’t doing enough for the community/world. So they spent $25,000 (I’m not joking) to have full-color brochures printed up with descriptions of all their “outreach.” Then they had church members walk the town’s neighborhoods putting them on every doorstep–to save postage. *sigh* The raging stupidity of all of that just boggles the mind.
AnonymousI should have stated that we do not give to the church as such. We will help out individuals in the church at times and have given to NGO’s (i.e. Mennonite Central Committee).
@Amy – that $25,000 would have been far far better spent on feeding the hungry. Our church does have a “feed the hungry” food bank type program and it was started ostensibly b/c there was a need in the community however it was also started b/c to win ‘em for the kingdom / grow the church.
Kathy-D, I think what drives it is if evangelism is at the core of a church’s theology. Specifically, if they view it as telling as many people about Jesus and getting them saved. When that is paired up with the notion that “time is running out”, churches will use a lot of means to attract people with that being their goal, versus just wanting to help people. It’s hard for some that are really steeped in this kind of thinking. For them, there is only one to help people and they can’t imagine helping and not mentioning Christ.
I remember the last pastor at the church I was at 2 years ago tried a lot of non-traditional things to help people to envision the faith a little differently. While he did have some success, he also encountered a lot of opposition. One thing he did was have cell groups that would meet and then find ways to do things in the community, but they were not to do it telling people about the church. Just do it. So, it could have been anything from taking food to someone in need, doing work around someone’s home, etc. It was a stretch for some people and the pastor was questioned about why they couldn’t say where they were from. This church had previously been used to have multiple outreaches that really were about getting people into the church and to not be about that anymore was really a cultural shock for many.
Like you, I give to many causes. I have a new church that I go to and I give to them and what I feel is a worthwhile work, but I also give to local and national charities as well.
Yeah, that’s what I meant too–stopped giving to the general fund. We have people & places we give to. All 4 members of our family have chosen a different charity to support.
I wrote a couple blogs a while back that kinda go along with the OP’s theme.
A local church recently spent 2.5 million dollars on a new building. 2.5 million dollars. Where I’m from that sort of money is unheard of, the average income is in the 30k range and nearly 30% of our population is in poverty. This church has no food program and the benevolence fund is in the thousands…not the tens of thousands, just a few thousand dollars to help people pay their electric bill. I wouldn’t give money to these people if I believed the pastor was Jesus himself.
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